


Love

by Jasmine_Shigeru



Category: Power Rangers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-07-08 01:25:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasmine_Shigeru/pseuds/Jasmine_Shigeru
Summary: Tommy's thoughts on his life and romances.





	1. Prologue: Thinking

Prologue-Thinking

Sometimes, I can't sleep. Not because of my nightmares caused by my stint as a Power Ranger. No, I have the best security blanket for that, my beautiful wife. She’s always there for me when I need her when I’m insecure or burdened. She’s my lifeline. No, nightmares, insecurities, and burdens are not my problem. In fact, I don’t really know what the problem is on nights when I cannot find the serene peace of slumber. I just can't sleep and tonight is one of those nights.

The nights are usually deathly quiet where I live. No, sound in my house or the woods outside. No animals scurrying around my yard or wind blowing the trees surrounding my home. This quiet is a dead silence. The eerie kind of quiet that send chills up your spine. Like some monster will jump out from the darkness and attack you.

I can't help but laugh at my thoughts. In my lifetime, for a good portion of my life, I fought a monster on a daily basis. My friends and I always triumphed over our enemies and when we retired a new team took our place and then when they retired another team to their place and so on. It seemed there would always be someone there to stand up for the good of all. Monsters weren’t my greatest fear. I had no reason to fear them, not since I was fifteen.

I turn to stare at my beautiful wife. She's sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of my minor dilemma. Hell, if she were awake she would laugh at me and say I was being silly. She would tell me I have nothing to worry about and tell me to go to sleep. She always said stuff like that when I couldn’t sleep. She was perfect. She's always making me feel comfortable when I need it most. She's always been able to read me better than anyone.

I smile. Just staring at her now is comforting to me, but I still cannot sleep. I frown and roll over to my back to stair up to the spinning ceiling fan. Why? Because, on silent nights like this, I like to think of my life. I like to reflect on how I became the man I am today and how my wife became one of my most treasured jewels.


	2. Chapter One: Kimberly and the Power Rangers

Chapter 1: Kimberly and the Power Rangers

I remember my first day at Angel Grove High. My family had just moved to the City of Angel Grove a week before. I was barely 16 and not happy about the move until I met Kimberly Ann Hart for the first time.

 

The self-proclaimed school bullies, Bulk, and Skull were teasing her and I approached them to defend her. I used martial arts to scare them away and watched them run down the hall. I really didn't have to, but it was fun to show off. It wasn't like I hurt them or anything.

 

I had no idea that the girl I saved was so cute. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She was also short and when she looked up at me with hope, I couldn't help but agree to meet her and her friends at the Youth center.

 

The rest of my time at school was uneventful. I went to my classes and received my homework from my teachers. By the end of the day, I was ready to meet Kimberly, but I got distracted for a couple of days.

 

The Power Rangers' villain, Rita Repulsa sent several of her Putties to Earth to fight me. After I defeated the Putty Patrol, the wicked sorceress transported me to her moon palace. Once there, she turned me evil and gave me Power Coin, making me her Evil Green Ranger.

 

I had learned the secret to the Rangers' identities. The Red Ranger was Jason Scott, a boy I went up against in a Martial Arts Expo a day before. The Pink Ranger was Kimberly. The Black, Blue, and Yellow Rangers were their longtime friends Zack Taylor, Billy Cranston, and Trini Kwan.

 

For two days, my only desire was to destroy the Power Rangers. I tormented the Pink Ranger in school and kidnapped the Red Ranger. I was almost successful in my goal when Jason destroyed my Sword of Darkness. The sword was the key to my evil, without it I was my normal self and ashamed of what I had done, but the Rangers didn't care.

 

Even though Rita's spell was broken, I still had the Green Ranger Power. The Power Rangers offered me a spot on their team. I accepted the offer and quickly became friends with each Ranger. For a few months, I was apart of a team. We went through a lot together, deadly flowers, a Frankenstein monster, a dangerous giant wheel, an island of illusion, a fan man, and many more. So much happened between the time I gained my powers and the time I lost my powers for the first time.

 

Rita had made a Green Candle, that when lit, would slowly drain away my powers from my Power Coin. My friends and I tried our best to get the candle and prevent it from burning out, but saving the world was far more important.

 

So, my life had changed again. I was no longer a Power Ranger and felt as if I was totally alone. No other Ranger before me had lost their power and even though my friends tried, they could not relieve the pain I felt at no longer being part of their group.

 

Three months passed before I could walk into the Youth Center with my head held high. I was going to spend time with my friends and their parents. It was Parents Day at Angel Grove High. Lame, I know, but my friends and I were a bunch of goody-goods.

 

When I arrived at the Youth Center, I found no one there. Rita had captured everyone in the building and used them to get my friends to surrender their Power Coins. The only Power Coin left was my Green Ranger coin. I had given it to Jason after I lost my powers.

 

Zordon, our alien mentor, had me transported to the Command Center, the Power Rangers' headquarters. Jason gave me my coin and at a high risk, Zordon used his own energy to restore my Green Ranger Power.

 

I retrieved the Power Coins and my friends saved everyone. That was the first time Zordon restored my energy with his, but not the last. The power was only temporary. The Green Ranger was running on borrowed time.

 

Rita reigned as queen for a few months after my powers were restored. We battled her and won every time, but Rita's time was just as limited as my own. Someone more powerful than her came to earth and sent her into space.

 

The more powerful someone was Lord Zedd and he was not only out to destroy the Power Rangers and take over the world, he wanted to make me suffer. Zedd spent most of his early months purposely trying to destroy my powers and me.

 

Zedd concentrated on creating monsters too difficult for five Rangers to defeat. He forced me out into battle and with each time I morphed the weaker the Green Ranger power became. Zordon could no longer help me and by September, I was no longer the Green Ranger.

 

After that, I left Angel Grove to spend some time with my uncle. I needed to come to grips with my new situation.

 

I realized I was no longer a Ranger, but I was still apart of the group. I could help my friends when they suddenly vanished to fight a monster or help get civilians out of harm's way.

 

When I felt more confident, I returned to Angel Grove. I had no clue that I would not be powerless for long.


	3. New Powers

Chapter Two-New Powers  
After my not so long absence, I was going to return to Angel Grove a new man. I was more confident and the guilt I had felt as the Green Ranger was gone. I was finally going to allow myself to be happy for the first time in months and I meant truly happy. No more false or temporarily smiles I was showing my friends and family to show them that I was okay.

 

A few days before I was to return to Angel Grove, I was transported to a secret room. Inside, I was transformed into the White Ranger. I was happy and surprised. I didn't think I would ever be a Power Ranger again. Seeing the look on my friends’ faces when they first saw me as the White Ranger was priceless. They were all happy for me. Kimberly fainted as soon as she saw my face. I went to her and held her as she woke in my arms. We exchanged some romantic words and she embraced me.

 

With my new powers, I gained a new zord, the tigerzord and became the new leader of the team. It was a shock to me and I felt guilty about my new position, but Jason did not seem bitter at all about Zordon’s decision. In fact, my best friend was happy for me and supported me. Plus, he was able to still lead the team when I was not able to for some reason or another. It was as if he knew that it would be better in the long run.

 

My life as a superhero was not the only thing that was new, I began to date Kimberly full-time after my return. When I asked her out on our first date, she did not hesitate to say yes. We made plans for the next day and I fell back onto an old habit of mine of being late, but after that, it was smooth sailing, well almost. I supported her when she needed me to and she supported me. Even though we were constantly in danger, we did not pressure each other to push our relationship too far. There were a few spells that came between our relationship, nothing that left any permanent damage.

 

Just when the team was getting settled, Jason, Trini, and Zack had been chosen to join a Peace Conference in Switzerland. It came as a shock to all of us, but we were happy. The Peace conference was an excellent opportunity for them to see the world and learn new things, but with our Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers. Luckily, we had met three perfect candidates a few days before. Adam Park took Zack's place as the black ranger; Rocky DeSantos replaced Jason as the Red Ranger, and Aisha Campbell became the Yellow Ranger in Trini's place.

 

It was awkward at first, gaining new Rangers, but after a few weeks, we were a well-oiled machine again. The only thing that truly threw us for a loop was Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd's wedding. Now, instead of having one enemy to stop, we had two. My friends' and my lives got a little harder, but we still ended on the top until Rita's crazy brother Rito Repulso came to Earth.

 

I am still uncertain of how a clumsy buffoon like Rito was able to force us to lose our powers and destroy or zords. He never had another victory, but first, we needed to find a new power.

 

So, my friend's and I went on a quest for a new power. We traveled through the desert and found a cave. Inside the cave was Ninjor, the guardian of the power. He did not trust us at first, but all we had to do was mention Zordon and he trusted us. He took us to an oasis and proudly presented our new powers. Adam became the Black Frog, Billy, the Blue Wolf, Aisha, the Yellow Bear, Rocky became the Red Ape, Kimberly became the Pink Crane, and I became the White Falcon.

 

Everything was perfect. The team and I were defeating our enemies regularly and Kimberly’s and my relationship could not have been better. It seemed like nothing could truly go wrong.


	4. A Sad Goodbye

AN: I know the events of “I’m Dreaming of A White Ranger” happens after Kat shows up, but since she is not seen nor is she mentioned in the episode, I’m putting it before she was added to the series.  
Chapter Three-A Sad Goodbye  
When Christmas came that year, the Rangers and I volunteered at the Youth Center to help entertain the local children. We decorated the juice bar and Kimberly and Aisha worked with the children’s choir. It seemed like it would have been a normal time, but, like every other day in Angel Grove, Rita and Zedd could not let us enjoy the holidays. They had kidnapped Santa Claus. Yes, he’s real, who knew? Anyway, as always, we were able to stop our enemies’ wicked plot. 

The holiday celebration went well. The children got to meet Santa Claus. Not the Santa Claus, but Bulk dressed up as Santa. I got to kiss Kim under the mistletoe. I had been trying to all that day and it was bliss to finally place my lips on hers. I didn’t know then that that would have bent the last time our lips would meet under the holiday plant.

A few days later, we met a girl by the name of Katherine Hillard. She was a gorgeous blonde with long legs and beautiful blue eyes. She was Australian and had just moved to Angel Grove. She had quickly befriended me and the other Rangers. She was sweet and kind. We had no clue she was under one of Rita’s evil spell.

Kat’s job was to defeat us and Rita and Zedd took a different approach. Instead of attacking me first, they went after Kimberly. Kat stole Kim’s power coin, leaving her power draining, weakening her slowly and nearly killing her. Rita and Zedd even kidnapped Kim to further drain her power. We were able to stop them, saving Kim and breaking the spell on Kat. We regained Kim’s power coin.

Around the same time, Kim was participating in a gymnastics competition. She was constantly practicing. The team and I were seeing less and less of her. We all knew she was pushing herself too hard. She even ended up in the hospital one night. She had fallen off of the balance beam at the Youth Center. Thank goodness Kat was there and able to get help.

Kimberly recovered quickly and able to go through the competition. She did well, so well she was offered to train in Florida for the Pan Globals. It was a dream come true for Kimberly.

Unfortunately, in order for her dream to become a reality. Kim would have to leave the team. A decision that did not come easy for her. We all encouraged her to follow her dream, that the team would be fine without her. In the end, Kimberly decided to follow her dream and passed her power coin to Kat.

It hurt to see my first love go. It was my job to drop her off at the airport the next day. We spent the night alone; we made love the first time, sharing everything with each other.

It was hard to let her go. To just let her board her plane and leave Angel Grove, the team, me. But I had to remain strong. I had to let her go.

Even though I did not want it to, life moved on. Kat settled well into the team. She and Aisha quickly became best friends. Kat was a great Ranger. She was not the skilled fighter Kimberly had been, but Kat had the drive, the kindness, and the compassion to be a Power Ranger. She fought well and by my side as though she was trying to fill the void Kim had left.


	5. Bound to Happen

Chapter Four-Bound to Happen  
Coming back to the present, I look over at my still sleeping wife and sigh sadly. I wish she had been there with me during my time as a Zeo Ranger. I could have really used her strength. She was a rock, my rock. I sigh again. Even though time travel was possible, I knew that could not go back and make it possible. Things happen for a reason.

After Kim broke up with me, I discovered that I had a brother. Unlike me, he grew up with our Native American culture.

I was surprised and happy to see him and to know him. Through him, I got to know a part of myself I never knew I had.

It was because of my brother I was able to get over Kimberly. Because of this, I was happier, but I was never as happy as I had been with her. And even though apart of me was found, another part was lost.

After I made peace with my break up with Kim, a new Ranger appeared. At first, we all thought it was Billy. The former Blue Ranger had so many secrets. But as it turned out, it wasn’t him. The Gold Ranger was from another planet. His name was Trey. He helped us out for a while and when he needed our help we were there for him. He split into three and could not hold onto his power. He needed to transfer them to another person. It was during that time that we discovered Billy could no longer become a Ranger and we needed to find someone else and I knew just the person to find.

I found Jason in secret, we couldn’t alert our enemy to our plans. 

I surprised everyone with the former Red Ranger. They were all happy to see him, especially Billy; he seemed lonely after Kimberly left.

Trey’s powers were transferred to Jason and the former Red Ranger became the new Gold Ranger. When this happened, I was happy to surrender my leadership over to him, but he refused. Instead, Jason became my second whenever I needed him to be.

We all fell into a routine and soon became comfortable with one another. Jason made friends with Rocky, Adam, Tanya, and Kat. He fitted well with our group.

Before I realized it, I had fallen Kat. She was beautiful and sweet and she always showed me affection when we were together.

Like with Kimberly, I found myself increasingly distracted in her presence. It took all my courage to ask her out. I was never good at being the first to make the move.

In Kat, I found a comforting happiness that, back then, I believed was true love. We worked well together. We were good together. With her I found myself smiling more. Being with Kat made her happy.

It was during this time that I realized something I hadn’t before. Kat had always wanted me for her boyfriend. Even before she took Kimberly’s place. I was always terribly blind to things like that.

With Jason’s help, we were able to finally defeat the Machine Empire. While we all were happy with our victory, we lost a Ranger.

The Gold Ranger’s powers had been slowly leaving Jason for weeks prior to the final battle. At first, it was hard on him. I understood what he was going through. It was like losing a part of yourself when your powers were slowly being taken from you. But Jason coped well. He had no problem returning his Gold Ranger Powers back to their original owner. He left Angel Grove with a peace of mind that so long ago I didn’t have. I respected him more for that.

Soon after the defeat of the Machine Empire, Rocky, Adam, and I were training for a charity Martial Arts event. We, the other Rangers and I, we're always doing things like that. It made us proud, but during one of the practices, we lost a Ranger. Not through death, but by injury. Rocky, hurt his back so bad that he ended up in the hospital.

It was during this time that the Power Rangers got a new enemy, Divatox and we were one Ranger short.  
END OF CH. 4


	6. Chapter Five: My Love For Her

AN: This is the first Chapter with actual dialog.

Chapter Five-My Love For Her  
Divatox was just as her name suggested. She was a diva and she was toxic. When we first encountered her she was after an alien called Lerigot. She stopped at nothing to get what she wanted. She even went as far as kidnapping Jason and Kimberly.

Seeing them broke my heart. My two best friends in the hands of the enemy. My only thought, my only concern was to rescue them.

Two save them, we had to gain new powers. We went from Zeo to Turbo, our zords became cars. And with new Powers, we gained a new Ranger.

Rocky’s injury was so severe he was unable to join us on our mission. So, instead, we got a kid. Justin Stewart. He was twelve and excitable. It was kind of annoying, but he was a could fighter and a good Ranger.

When we made it to the island that Divatox was holding Jason, Kimberly, and Lerigot, Jason and Kim were hanging from a pit and before we could get to them they were dropped in. My heart stopped. I thought they were dead and I was almost relieved when they came from the pit seemingly unharmed. Their demeanor changed. They seemed more confident. Their eyes were red and they were super strong. They were evil.

They attacked us. I was the only one who truly knew them and tried to appeal to their goodness and failed. When I removed my helmet, Kimberly didn’t care and Jason nearly killed me. If it wasn’t for Lerigot, I would have either been tossed into the pit. I never wanted to become evil again and thank goodness I was saved by the two former Rangers.

Unfortunately, we weren’t unable to stop Divatox’s plan. She was able to raise a monster named Maligor from the pit. He grew to the monstrous size and we had to do what we Rangers did best, call our zords, combine them and defeat the giant monster.

Afterward, we made it home. We fought in the charity Martial Arts event and won. It was then that it was revealed to Kimberly that Kat and I were dating. I thought Jason would have told her, but I guessed it was my responsibility.

At first, I didn’t think Kimberly was hurt. She hid her feelings so well during the party after the event. She smiled and talked to everyone like nothing was wrong.

She didn’t confront me until later that night. She had walked out to get some fresh air and I found her crying.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She wiped her tears away before turning to face me.

“Nothing,” she said.

“I can tell when something’s upsetting you,” I said.

I placed my arm on her shoulder and she pulled away from me.

“If you don’t know I’m not telling,” Kimberly said.

“Kimberly.”

 

“No Tommy, it’s my fault that it’s none of your concern.”

“What?”

Kim took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“You and Kat,” she finally said.

“What about us?”

“You replaced me,” she said.

I stepped back from her. I was beginning to get angry.

“That’s not fair, Kimberly,” I argued. “You broke up with me. In a letter. You couldn’t even call me to tell me you had REPLACED me.”

“I was lost at the time,” she argued back. “It was a mistake.”

“How much of a mistake?”

She stopped looking me in the eye and I knew how far she had gone with the guy she left me for.

“Before or after?” I asked sharply.

“After,” Kim answered quietly. “He left me after.”

“Good,” I said honestly pleased that things didn’t work out with her ‘soul-mate’.

We stood there in silence for a minute or two. I stared her down while she couldn’t even look at me.

“You have no right to be upset over me and Kat,” I said calmly. “And for your information. We haven’t. I’m not so quick to jump into bed.”

I loud clap rose in the air. She had slapped me. Kimberly had actually hit me and she didn’t say a word she just walked away. I didn’t speak to her again. She spoke to everyone but me for the rest of her visit.

I turned rubbing my cheek, to see Kat staring at me. My heart broke again that week. Kat, my beautiful girlfriend looked hurt. Not because Kimberly had struck me, but because she saw something she never wanted to see in my face again. Love towards another girl. I was still in love with my first girlfriend. No matter how bad our argument was, I was still in love with Kimberly.

We did not talk about my argument with Kim. We just moved on with our relationship the best we could. At first, everything was great between us, we even thought we could have a long distance. But while apart we discovered how much we really didn’t need to be in a relationship together. So much so, that we went from being romantic to being just friends.

Our break up was mutual. We loved each other, but we weren’t ‘in’ love with each other. It was my first mature breakup and it wouldn’t have been my last.  
END OF CH. 5


	7. Chapter Six: Moving On

Chapter Six-Moving On  
Soon after our power changed from Zeo to Turbo, I began racing for my uncle. You would have thought that the excitement of being a Power Ranger would have been enough for me, but I was young and only thought of the fun I would be having working on cars and driving them.

It was also a way to make some money for school. I had decided after we, Adam, Tanya, Kat, and I gave our powers to a younger team, to go on to college. I wanted to be a scientist. A much quieter life than what I had led as a Power Ranger.

As I had said before, Kat and I broke up and I was completely focused on school. I made new friends. One of whom was Hayley Matthews. She was the smartest girl I knew. She was beautiful too. She was pale with deep red hair.

At first we began to date and I told her of my life in Angel Grove. She wasn’t even surprised when I told her I used to be a Power Ranger. She was very intuitive. She notices in my old high school photos that my friends and I wore the same colors as the Rangers. She noticed from TV broadcasts that the Rangers had switched in body, height, build, and fighting styles. She told me that from the moment she cheered me on at one of my Martial Arts tournaments, she knew that I had been the Green Ranger and then the White, and then the two Red Rangers. She also told me, she knew that Rocky, Aisha, and Adam had replaced Jason, Trini, and Zack. She noticed the switch from Kimberly to Katherine. And finally the switch of Blue Rangers. All three. The only thing that she did not expect was Rocky’s switch with Justin. Justin always grew into a full teen when he morphed. Hayley said she wouldn’t tell a soul my secret and I understood.

I was completely happy in my life. A normal life. With no monsters, a great education, and a wonderful girlfriend. But as the saying goes “Once A Ranger, Always A Ranger“. I was contacted by Andros the Red Space Ranger who wanted my help with a former enemy of the Power Rangers.

A couple of years after college, myself and other former Red Rangers made a discovery. The remnants of the Machine Empire were trying to conquer our world. How? They found Lord Zedd’s zord Serpenterra. By this time, many years had passed since I was last a Ranger. Several teams had come and gone. Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, and Time Force had fought their own battles. Now, it was time for Wild Force.

Despite the fact that there were so many Ranger’s now, I, being the leader of our troop, decided that the safety of our universe should only be handled by Red Rangers. So, I gathered, Jason Lee Scott, Aurico (the Aquatar Red Ranger), Theodore “TJ” Johnson (my replacement as the Turbo Red Ranger. He later became the Blue Space Ranger), Andros (the Red Space Ranger), Leo Corbett (the Galactic Red Ranger) , Carter Grayson (Lightspeed Rescue‘s Red Ranger), Wes, and Eric (the Time Force Red Rangers). Rocky was going through some family issues and we thought it best that he handled everything. Last, was Cole Evans. He was the current Red Ranger. He was the most eager out of us to go on the Ranger. He was the youngest and was amazed to meet us all.

We were successful and even took a moment to celebrate as we parted ways. I left them alone. Back to school, back to my life as a former Power Ranger.  
END OF CH. 6


	8. Chapter Seven: Just Friends

Chapter Seven-Just Friends  
After the Red Ranger mission, my life settled into a routine. I went to school, I did my homework, I went to work at my part-time job, and on the weekends I went on dates with Hayley. I never felt as if something was missing. I had no reason to. Then my sophomore year came and my life changed again. Not for the worse.

Again I was forced to end a romantic relationship. Even though we gave each other all of the attention we could, Hayley and I quickly found our relationship shifting from romantic to friendship. We stopped holding hands and kissing. We did not feel like we were neglecting each other. It was just like we both hit the neutral button. So, we had a talk.

“I don’t love you,” Hayley said randomly while we sat at our favorite table at our favorite café.

“I don’t love you either,” I said.

We laughed. We weren’t sad about our revelation. We were more relieved.

“So, I guess we shouldn’t continue to date,” I said with a smile.

“I guess you’re right,” Hayley said as she tugged on her ponytail.

“Friends?” I asked and held out my hand.

She smiled at me and clasped my hand.

“Friends.”

Our friendship began that night and we remained friends from then on. She even became one of my best friends.

I was two for three now. Two of my ex-girlfriends ended up being my friends and one seemed to have hated me.

It had been two years since I last saw Kimberly and none of our mutual friends ever talked about her around me. In fact, some of our friends began to treat me differently. Zack, Trini, and Aisha were distancing themselves from me. It was obvious that they had felt as if they had to pick a side and they picked Kim.

At first, I was hurt but after a good scolding from Jason, Rocky, and Hayley, I realized that it was in their right. Trini and Aisha were Kim’s best friends. Other than Jason, Zack had known Kimberly the longest. Kat and Tanya barely knew Kim, so they took my side. Rocky, Adam, and Jason refused to take sides.

A few years would pass before we all would be as close as we were when we were the Power Rangers.  
END OF CH. 7


	9. Chapter Eight: Career Choices

Chapter Eight-Career Choices  
With no girlfriend, I focused my time on science. During my junior and sophomore years, I discovered I enjoyed studying dinosaurs.

I began to work towards a degree in Paleontology.

I studied hard and soon became one of the top students in my class.

During grad school, I met Terrance Smite. He and I became study buddies and he worked just as hard as I did for his masters. We were friends, but we were also rivals.

When used each other as our extra motivation. When he would do a paper on a specific period, I would do the same period. When he got a B, I would get an A. And vice versa. We did battle like this often. While I did not take our competition personally, he did.

It would always anger Smitty when our instructor would praise me instead of him or use my work as a prime example of how a study should be down and not his.

It would be after grad school would I realize how much Smitty resented me.

When I decided to go for my doctorate, I met Dr. Anton Mercer. He was one of the top men in our field. He was also a wealthy man. He always looked intimidating but he was a kind man.

He took me and Smitty under his wing. He taught us everything he knew.

We were his best students and when Dr. Mercer was offered the head spot in an experiment to resurrect dinosaurs from old fossils he wanted to bring one of his best students. In fact, he could only take one of us.

Unfortunate for Smitty, I was chosen. Dr. Mercer, who now allowed me to call him Anton, believed that I was perfect for the position. He later told me that Smitty wasn’t picked because he was too competitive and too aggressive. He felt that Smitty would have hindered the experiment. But at the time I did not know why Smitty wasn’t picked.

I was excited and promised I would do my best and I lived up to my promise.

We were to work on a secluded island. Only a handful of us was to work there. There were fifteen of us, excluding Anton, there were seven other doctors, Dr. Julius Reed, Dr. Harrison Moore, Dr. Leigh Li, Dr. Kevin Rodgers, Dr. Franklin Prince, and Dr. Norman Marks. The other seven people in our party were the doctors’ assistance, Rachel Lee, Carol Hunter, Marshall Samson, Christopher Michaels, Henry Jones, Harold Clarkson, Matthew Long, and myself.

We spent most of our time working. We experimented with any fossil we could find. For the most part, we were successful. We were able to harness dinosaur DNA inside gems, humanoid creatures, mechanical machines.

At first, our research was for the greater good, but after a year and a half of work, things changed.

Anton discovered a mysterious old piece of amber. Inside that amber was Mesogog and because of this ancient being’s influence, our research became darker. Everything, with the exceptions of four gems, was corrupted.

 

It would take another year before I realized how deep Mesogog’s influence had dug in our work.  
END OF CH. 8


	10. Chapter Nine: Survival, Old Friends, Teaching

Chapter Nine: Survival, Old Friends, Teaching  
As time passed on the island, our group dwindled down to six. Myself, Anton, Dr. Harrison Moore and his assistant, Carol Hunter, Dr. Franklin Prince and his assistant, Henry Jones, and Dr. Norman Marks and his two assistants, Harold Clarkson and Matthew Long.

Dr. Julius Reed had married his assistant Rachel Lee. They left the island for their wedding and honeymoon. Dr. Leigh Li’s mother died during our first year and she and her assistant, Marshall Samson left and never returned. Dr. Kevin Rodgers and his assistant, Christopher Michaels not only fell in love but had an ethical disagreement with Anton, Dr. Moore, Dr. Prince, and Dr. Marks. They believed what we were doing was wrong. Apparently, they had seen Jurassic Park and saw the flaws with our research. I had to admit that they were right. The dinosaurs had their time and now was ours. Dr. Rodgers brought forth questions, where would we put the animals, will they be able to adapt to the new world's diseases, will they be hunted for game, how will they affect our ecosystem and there were many more. So, Dr. Rodgers and his lover left the island.

Despite losing over half of our researchers, our work flourished. We were able to make the drones completely submissive to orders, lock away five dinosaurs powers in gems in a way that they could only be used by people they sensed was worthy, and bring dinosaurs back to life by combining their DNA into the machines we had created.

It wasn’t long after our research was complete, that Mesogog made himself known to us. He attacked our laboratories.

At the beginning of Mesogog’s attack, we were separated from Anton and I had believed him killed. For days I and the others hid in the deep jungle of our island. We pieced together whatever survival skills we each owned to survive. Dr. Moore, whose specialty were plants, found food and water for us. Dr. Prince, an engineer, and his assistant built our temporary shelters. Dr. Marks and his assistants made our weapons and helped fight. They were all surprised by my skills as a martial artist and quickly made me in charge of combat.

For the first three days, we were not discovered, but on the fourth day, the drones found us. They attacked our temporary camp in the early day while we were all resting from a night of watching out for our enemy. It was the painful cry of Henry Jones that woke us. Carol, Dr. Prince, and Dr. Moore ran while the rest of us stood and fought. We lost not only Henry that day, but Matthew as well.

Afterward, we had a small funeral and became more vigilant. I myself barely slept, only taking small naps here and there.

 

Another, four days passed before we were discovered again. This time we were more prepared but we lost Dr. Marks.

By the next day, Mesogog had sent out most of his troops to find and kill us. They were able to kill Dr. Moore. And with only one of us killed that day, Mesogog decided to destroy the whole island.

It started with slight tremors, growing into earthquakes. A huge sinkhole opened up, swallowing Carol.

Now there were only Dr. Prince, Harold and I.

My final day on the island was just as bad as the previous days but made ten times worse by Mesogog himself discovering our location. He gave poor Harold a migraine so bad, that it caused blood vessels to explode in his head. Before this, I never saw anything to merciless. Blood had not only dripped from Harold’s ears, but his eyes, nose, and mouth. It was a horrifying sight. It was so horrifying that I could not move and it took Dr. Prince’s demanding voice to get me to move again.

I ran from the clearing where Harold lay dying. I ran until my lungs burned and I was forced to stop. It was then that I noticed the Dr. Prince had not followed me and it took me a moment to remember that he hand placed himself between Mesogog and myself. He had sacrificed his own life to save mine.

After a short rest, I began to run again, only to come into contact with the drones. I stopped and fought them for a moment before running off again. I came to a cliff at the very edge of the island. Taking a deep breath I jumped off the side and swam. I swam as far as I could away from the island. I turned in time to see it sink. The earthquakes were Mesogog’s doing. He destroyed the island and with it sank the bodies of my colleagues.

I do not remember how long I was stranded in the deep ocean with my hands clutched tightly to the one thing I was able to take with me, a single bag. Inside the bag were three gems. The red, yellow, and blue Dino Gems. I don’t even think Mesogog realized I had them. I didn’t even take them. It was brave old Dr. Prince who had thought quickly to save some of our research.

It seemed like weeks, but it must have only been days when a rescue ship came. I SOS beacon must have been sent from the island.

After my rescue, I was unconscious for days. I woke up in a hospital in California. Hayley beside my bed. She had informed me that I had been found dehydrated and practically starved to death. She said it was a miracle that I survived. She also told me that she had the gems and had hidden them in a safe place.

I was relieved that the gems were safe. I did not know if Mesogog survived the sinking of the island or not.

I thanked my friend before she left to put the final touches on her business she had decided to create.

When she left, the guilt started. I was unable to save my colleagues and friends. I felt responsible for all of their deaths. I was a former Power Ranger. I should have been able to protect them from the monsters. For the first time in years, I cried for such a tragic loss.

While my body recovered, I fell into a deep depression. I only ate because Hayley was such a forceful woman and wouldn’t allow me to starve.

One day, she came into my room. In fact, she stormed in.

“Thomas Oliver, you need to stop this,” she said harshly. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have been able to save them,” I argued.

Hayley scoffed and put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

“You are no longer a Power Ranger,” she said in a harsh whisper. “There was nothing you could do. In fact, you did the best you could under the circumstances.”

I remained silent for a moment. I hated that she was right. There was nothing else I could do. At that moment I came up with the best solution I could.

Hayley had told me that while I was gone there had been another group of Power Rangers, the Ninja Storm Rangers and it had been two years since they fought their enemy. The world was unprotected. I made a decision. Using the Dino Gems, I would create my own Power Rangers.

“Hayley, if Mesogog is still out there, the earth is going to need protection,” I said. “I need you to contact my friend Billy Cranston.”

“Billy the first Blue,” Hayley said in awe.

Before I had gone to the island, Billy had returned to Earth. His romance with the Aquatar Princess had fizzled out years before. He had stayed the water planet for years studying there technology. I knew that he would be able to help.

“You’re going to need his help with making power morphers and zords. I know that you are smart and probably do most of it on your own, but Billy has experience.”

“I wasn’t going to protest, it will be an honor to work with him,” Hayley said with a slight blush.

Hayley had little trouble contacting Billy and after I was released from the hospital; my old friend greeted me at her apartment. There we came up with plans and designs for power morphers and Command Center.

I moved to Reefside. I had found a house above some old, undiscovered caves. The caves were to be converted into a Command Center.

“Are you sure about this?” Hayley asked one day when we were all standing in a cavern that was under my home.

“Yes, this needs to be done. I can’t let Mesogog destroy the world,” I answered remembering the island.

“Well, it will not take long for Hayley and me to create your Command Center,” Billy said staring a little too long at Hayley.

I cleared my throat as he paused.

“Right,” he said turning away from her. “We will construct two secret entrances. One going up to your home and another back entrance into the woods.”

He walked around the area as he said this.

“Yes,” Hayley said as she walked up to a large wall. “And the monitors will go here. Billy has made alien surveillance devices so you will be able to see around the city.”

They continued to discuss their plans with me.

Billy was right, what should have taken at least a year to construct only took us a month. The Command Center and Morphers were finished. Billy left Reefside to Angel Grove, where he lived, with promises to keep in touch. I had a feeling the promise was more to Hayley than me.

Once settled, I decided a new career path was needed. I had gotten my doctorate, thanks to my work on the island and Anton’s recommendations, and I did not want to spend my time working on digs and discovering fossils, traveling. I wanted to teach. I loved teaching. I discovered this when I was a teenager and instructed Martial Arts and Self Defense classes back in Angel Grove.

I worked hard on obtaining my teaching degree, taking a year and a half to do so. Once, I got my teaching certificate, I placed applications and resumes to the school board and was hired at Reefside High School.

It would be my first day that Mesogog would show his ugly head and three new Power Rangers would rise.  
END of Ch. 9


End file.
